January 2009


Ups and Downs of the week.

 Blago is gone!! – About time! On his way out the door he couldn’t help but make more of a fool of himself. Listen to him whining to the legislature.

  Business a usual in D.C. – These idiots just don’t get it!!!! Enough with the idiotic pork-barrel stuff. The stimulus package is so full of bullshit, it’s drawing flies. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) cannot possibly stimulate the economy. Support for STD treatment cannot either. Both these could be considered worthy causes in a time of prosperity, but now is not that time. Obama already trimmed out the ludicrous mall resodding project and the equally inane contraceptive funding, but there is still way too much pork and not enough direct action. We need money to support infrastructure projects which will put people to work. If a proposal will not add a substantial number of jobs, it should be scrapped. Congress is whining about Wall Street not listening to the people when they’re just as deaf. STOP THE PORK!!!! (Clear enough?)

  Celtics – Back to their winning ways.

  Winter – 9″ of snow this week. I’m so in need of a warm day or two. Now that I have a ragtop waiting for me, the winter days are dragging by endlessly.

  Dad continues to improve. – Today they had him standing up straight (with a little help) and next week he’ll start learning to walk again using parallel bars. The docs are amazed at his progress, but we’re not. He’s a determined man. Always has been.

Ups and Downs of the week.

 New Toy – 2006 BMW Z4. Quick pic here. More to follow.

2006 BMW Z4

  Blago – He continues to thumb his nose at the very people who elected him. He’s a sociopath who refuses to acknowledge he did anything wrong and his obstinate refusal to step down is going to run this state into bankruptcy. He’s nothing but a curse and a burden on this state now.

  President Obama – I like what I see so far, but the really tough decisions are still ahead.

  Dad is doing better – Sitting up straight for longer periods. Standing (but not walking yet) on his own. Starting to eat just a little. And best of all, his attitude is great and he’s getting a little stronger every day.

Every now and then it hits me that a paradigm shift has occurred and we’ve taken it for granted. One such shift is the amazing technology we so casually carry around in our pockets. A couple of decades ago the thought of owning a tiny device which allowed us to talk to each other, send each other messages, take a picture, or even record a short video was the stuff of Star Trek or other sci-fi. Today we have the cell phones we accept as a normal part of life. Even very capable cameras capable of 10 megapixel images can be easily carried inside a tuxedo or stashed in a small handbag. This image below of our new President and First Lady dancing at an inaugural ball shows what I mean. It took me a second to realize what all the little blue lights were. You would not have seen them at Bill Clinton’s inaugural ball. Funny how quickly we adapt.

Obamas dance.

Ups and Downs of the week.

  Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III – One hell of a pilot. Incredible skill and grace under extreme pressure. Amazing.

  Economy - Still tanking and showing signs of worsening. Circuit City going under with more stores to follow for sure. Bad news. 

  Kevin Youkilis – 4 more years with the Red Sox. Very cool indeed.

  Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10 – Nice little camera. It’s now in my glovebox so I can grab images during my commute. See below.

 Lumix DMC-LZ10

  Winter Sunset – Cold but beautiful.

Winter Sunset

Winter Sunset

Cold Kitty.

Yellows

Ups and Downs of the week.

 TGIF – First week back after a break is always tough.

Meh   Celtics – Serious slump. From a near perfect season to second place in a week. Yikes.

  Trader Joe’s Cranberry Stollen – Man, is this stuff good.

Cranberry Stollen

  Winter – Single digits and below coming next week. I am so ready for spring.

  Blago about to be impeached – Six months late, but better than never.

   Amazon.com’s shipping – Used to be the best in the business. now it’s just pathetic. Up to two weeks to get some items. I ordered a very small handheld CB radio on Dec. 31. It may arrive on Monday, nearly two weeks later. It shipped from Hazelwood, MO which is less than a hundred miles from here. I guess the Pony Express still lives, although even a horse could be here quicker. Used to be you’d get the item you bought in a few days, now it’s a few weeks. Amazon made their fortune off instant gratification and now they’re abandoning the very thing that made them famous and successful.

Update: My CB arrived today (Saturday), so 10 days after ordering. Not as bad, especially considering the 1st was a holiday. Still, from an hour-and-a-half away…

I turned 50 today. Yep, Elvis and I share the same birthday. I don’t feel 50. I still feel like I haven’t even settled into a career yet, like that is all still to come. I do feel like it’s time to start living out some dreams I’ve always had, like owning a decent sports car and traveling to places like Hawaii and Prague and so on.

I also need to get in better shape, or I won’t be feeling as well by the time I hit 60. It’s much harder to lose weight now than it used to be, but sadly much easier to gain it. Maybe I need another year-long stint at UPS. During the year I worked for them I lost 60 pounds. Who needs a gym membership when your job keeps you fit? There’s a reason you don’t see any overweight UPS drivers. 🙂

Ups and Downs of the week.

 Home again – Be it ever so humble, there’s no place as comfortable as home.

  Blago and Burris – What a pair of losers.

  Feeling healthy again – Whatever it was that had me feeling lousy over the holidays is gone now. ‘Bout time.

 Celtics and Bruins – Both teams still smoking along and on top of their game.